Chapter 64
The river’s surface shimmered gold in the slanting sunlight.
The breeze crossing the river quietly carried away the last of the day’s heat.
Before long, a shadow appeared in the distance along the river.
At first, it looked like nothing more than a dark mass, but gradually took shape, revealing the outlines of stone towers and walls.
With the setting sun behind it, the city floated against the sky like a black cutout, its edges glowing fiery red.
“It’s coming into view.”
The boatman’s voice held a hint of relief.
“...We finally made it. Man, that took forever.”
Lyle gripped the edge of the boat and arched his stiff body in a long stretch.
“Same here. ...I’m sticky all over from the river dampness. I want to get into town already.”
Elena adjusted her clothes with a look of discomfort as she gazed up at the towering outer wall.
Kai silently readjusted the large shield on his back and prepared to disembark.
Before long, the boat glided into a waterway where tributaries branching off from the Dinuvria River spread out like a web.
The silence ended as soon as we entered the waterways.
Countless flat-bottomed boats crowded the riverbanks, and the angry shouts of merchants vying for a share of the trade rang all around us.
The boat pulled alongside the bank, and at last, we set foot on Albusvolt’s soil.
“Whoa. It still feels like the ground’s moving.”
Lyle stepped onto the pier on unsteady legs.
We passed through the gate into the city with little trouble, simply by showing our adventurer cards.
We went straight through the gate, passing the lines of merchants having their cargo inspected.
The main avenue stretched out before us. It should have been packed with adventurers and merchants, but it was so broad that it hardly felt crowded.
Though it was dusk, the street was strangely bright.
Looking up, I saw lights hanging at regular intervals.
Even though the sun hadn’t fully set yet, they were already giving off a faint glow.
It wasn’t the flicker of flames. The light was steadier, and somehow colder.
“They use magic tools for the streetlights.”
I suppose that’s to be expected from a city known for its magic tools.
“This place has me hoping the inn will be nice, too.”
Elena smiled as she gazed up at the hanging lights.
Beside her, Lyle had already been distracted by the row of shops.
“I’ll go take a look—”
“No. Finding an inn comes first.”
Before he could finish, Elena grabbed Lyle by the collar.
“...I haven’t even done anything yet.”
“I stopped you because you looked like you were about to.”
I smiled wryly at her firm response.
We continued down the main avenue and eventually reached the plaza at the center of the city.
On one side stood an imposing building, larger than all the others—the Adventurers’ Guild headquarters, bearing an emblem of a dragon’s head and a set of scales holding gold coins.
And across from it, at the center of the plaza, stood the true centerpiece.
—The Heavenly Inversion Tower.
It seemed less like a building and more like a landform in its own right.
Its scale was impossible to take in at a glance.
Sprawling across the entire plaza, it looked as if it had swallowed a whole district of the city.
Lyle stopped in his tracks before the Heavenly Inversion Tower, which dominated the center of the plaza.
“...Huge.”
The word slipped out, and he couldn’t say anything more.
It was far too wide to be called a tower.
No matter how high I looked or how far I turned my gaze, I couldn’t make out where it ended.
“So this is the Heavenly Inversion Tower...”
Elena, too, gazed around at it, apparently at a loss for words.
“Let’s take a quick look inside, at least.”
Before anyone could stop him, Lyle dashed toward the entrance.
“...Hey. We’re only looking today.”
Elena hurried after him.
Kai and I followed them.
A pair of angel statues stood like sentries on either side of the towering doors.
The moment we passed through the open doors, the view opened up before us.
It was a circular hall.
The far reaches were lost in a white haze, their outlines blurring away.
The ceiling soared high above us, and white light filled the space. It illuminated everything evenly, though its source was nowhere to be seen.
On our left stood a grand staircase tracing a gentle arc along the outer wall.
The stone steps descended underground.
A massive pattern was carved across the entire floor.
Complex patterns of concentric circles and straight lines overlapped, faintly pulsing with light.
In one section, a figure wrapped in light suddenly vanished.
Then, a short distance away, a person appeared out of thin air atop another pattern.
“...Huh?”
Lyle let out the word before he could stop himself.
The same thing was happening all around us. People vanished, and people appeared.
“Those are teleportation magic circles. It seems you can travel to any floor once you meet the requirements.”
I said, looking down at the patterns on the floor.
“Oh. How convenient.”
Elena sounded genuinely impressed.
“And what are the requirements?”
Lyle furrowed his brow.
“Apparently, you have to defeat the boss on every tenth floor.”
I replied as I looked over the information I’d copied into the ‘Endless Record.’
“Then our first goal is the boss on the tenth floor.”
“Yes. Though it’s not quite that simple.”
“...What do you mean?”
Lyle stopped walking.
“Once a boss is defeated, it won’t reappear until the next full moon.”
“Huh?”
“As a result, the number of parties allowed to challenge it is limited. The Guild apparently manages the process.”
“So we can’t just fight it whenever we want?”
“That’s right. Before the full moon, the party that submits the most magic stones collected from the floors leading up to the boss’s floor earns the right to challenge it.”
“...So what, we have to spend at least a month hunting low-level monsters?”
Elena sounded exasperated.
“That’s how it works. And we have to gather more magic stones than the other parties.”
The Guild’s system was cleverly designed.
By dangling the chance to challenge a boss in front of the parties, they encouraged them to compete, increasing the amount of magic stones they collected.
Whether or not a party could teleport made a world of difference to its efficiency at clearing the tower.
The deeper the floors, the greater that difference became.
Naturally, competition would only get fiercer.
Some would stockpile magic stones for months and submit them all at once.
Others would pool the stones gathered by their entire clan and funnel them to a single party.
There were any number of ways to do it.
Raw combat strength alone wouldn’t be enough.
Information, advance maneuvering, timing—those would all matter, too.
In other words, this wasn’t just about clearing the tower.
It was a struggle to claim the prize.
—Interesting.
“Ugh... This sounds like a pain. For now, let’s find an inn or something.”
Lyle shrugged.
“Agreed.”
Elena nodded.
Kai started walking without a word, and we followed him out of the tower.